'I wanted to stay' - Nolan

Kevin Nolan says leaving West Ham "is a bitter blow" following his nine-year stint at the club as player and first-team coach.

The former Hammers midfielder, who was brought back in to the coaching set-up by David Moyes in February 2020, "wanted to stay" as part of new manager's Julen Lopetegui's staff but he has been dismissed.

"To be at West Ham meant a lot to me," Nolan told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It has been fantastic to come back [as a coach]. "Receiving the news was a bitter blow and disappointing because I wanted to stay. But as we know, it is football."

"It did come as a bit of a shock to all of us. We were all under the illusion that Moyes would be talking to them in the summer again, but then you hear the rumours.

"When you hear your boss say 'we will see at the end of the season', you always see a change in attitude and mind from the players. That adds up to a cloud of uncertainty.

"It was unfortunate in the way it all unfolded. As much as I would like to say I knew what was going on, I did not have a clue. I believed that he would be offered a deal."

West Ham confirmed that first-team coaches Billy McKinlay, John Heitinga and Henry Newman have also left the club.